Delivery of multicast and broadcast services concurrently with unicast data

ABSTRACT

Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments, user equipment receives unicast services from a first carrier of a primary serving cell and determines if Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast services (MBMS) services are available on a second carrier based at least in part on information in a broadcast carrier channel that indicates the second carrier or an identification (ID) of the second carrier. If MBMS services are available on the second carrier, the user equipment at least temporarily switches to the second carrier to receive the MBMS services. The user equipment may provide feedback to the network or the primary serving cell when it starts and stops receiving MBMS services, and then may switch back to the primary serving cell when MBMS services have ended or the user equipment no longer desires to receive MBMS services.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/154,809 filed Jun. 7, 2011, pending, which in turn claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/373,788 filed Aug. 13, 2010. Saidapplication Ser. No. 13/154,809 and said Application No. 61/373,788 arehereby incorporated herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The next generation mobile networks, in particular Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) andthe evolution thereof, are expected to be deployed with multiplecarriers in the same area and across multiple spectrum bands. The mobiledevices or user equipment (UE) are also expected to be deployed withsome devices having a single radio-frequency (RF) transceiver and otherdevices having multiple RF transceivers. Based on their capabilities,the devices may receive unicast traffic on a single carrier, or trafficthat is aggregated across multiple carriers. Furthermore, such thirdgeneration (3G) and fourth generation (4G) systems may also provide forthe delivery of Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast services (MBMS)concurrently with unicast services. Since MBMS services typicallyconsume a significant amount of radio resources, MBMS services may bedelivered from only one or a small subset of deployed carriers. In suchscenarios, the MBMS bearing cells may not be the primary serving cellfor some of the devices since the primary serving cell is typicallydetermined by link quality and loading considerations. As a result, ifMBMS services are desired for a device not being served by the MBMSbearing cell, handoff of the device from the primary serving cell to theMBMS cell should be accommodated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctlyclaimed in the concluding portion of the specification. However, suchsubject matter may be understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an evolved radio access network capable ofdelivering multicast and broadcast services in accordance with one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are diagrams of user equipment switching from afirst carrier delivering unicast services to a second carrier deliveringmulticast and broadcast services in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams of user equipment switching from asecond carrier delivering multicast and broadcast services to a firstcarrier delivering unicast services in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are diagrams of user equipment switching from firstand second carriers delivering unicast services via carrier aggregationto a third and fourth carrier delivering unicast services on the thirdcarrier and multicast and broadcast services on the fourth carrier inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are diagrams of user equipment receiving unicastservices on first and second carriers via carrier aggregation andswitching from the second carrier to a third carrier deliveringmulticast and broadcast services in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method to inform user equipment of theavailability of multicast and broadcast services on another carrier inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for user equipment to inform thenetwork when the user equipment starts and stops using multimedia andbroadcast services on a carrier other than the carrier of the primaryserving cell in accordance with one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an information handling system capable ofdelivering and/or receiving multicast and broadcast servicesconcurrently with unicast data in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity ofillustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarilybeen drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elementsmay be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, ifconsidered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thefigures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that claimedsubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, procedures, components and/or circuitshave not been described in detail.

In the following description and/or claims, the terms coupled and/orconnected, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particularembodiments, connected may be used to indicate that two or more elementsare in direct physical and/or electrical contact with each other.Coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical and/orelectrical contact. However, coupled may also mean that two or moreelements may not be in direct contact with each other, but yet may stillcooperate and/or interact with each other. For example, “coupled” maymean that two or more elements do not contact each other but areindirectly joined together via another element or intermediate elements.Finally, the terms “on,” “overlying,” and “over” may be used in thefollowing description and claims. “On,” “overlying,” and “over” may beused to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalcontact with each other. However, “over” may also mean that two or moreelements are not in direct contact with each other. For example, “over”may mean that one element is above another element but not contact eachother and may have another element or elements in between the twoelements. Furthermore, the term “and/or” may mean “and”, it may mean“or”, it may mean “exclusive-or”, it may mean “one”, it may mean “some,but not all”, it may mean “neither”, and/or it may mean “both”, althoughthe scope of claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect. Inthe following description and/or claims, the terms “comprise” and“include,” along with their derivatives, may be used and are intended assynonyms for each other.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a diagram of an evolved radio access networkcapable of delivering multicast and broadcast services in accordancewith one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 1, aradio access network 100 may comprise one or more base transceiverstations (BTS) such as base transceiver station 110, base transceiverstation 112, and base transceiver station 114 each capable of operatingon a respective carrier frequency. In one or more embodiments, radioaccess network 100 may comprise an evolved radio access network (eRAN)for deployment in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system. Insuch an LTE system, the base transceiver stations may comprise anevolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB) in accordance with an LTE standard as aThird Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) or a3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) standard or the like.Alternatively, radio access network and the respective elements shown inFIG. 1 may be in compliance with an Institute for Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard such as IEEE 802.16e orIEEE 802.16m as a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX) or WiMAX II network. However, these are merely example standardsfor wireless networks, and the scope of the claimed subject matter isnot limited in these respects.

As shown in FIG. 1, the base transceiver stations are capable of servingone or more respective user equipment (UE) devices such as UE 116, UE118, and UE 120. In the example shown, out of the three base transceiverstations, BTS 110 and BTS 114, may be capable of providing unicastservices 122 to UE 116 and UE 120, respectively. Unicast services mayrefer to transmitting or sending information, data, or other messages,to a single node or network destination that is identified by a singledestination address. Base transceiver station, BTS 112, may be capableof providing unicast services to 122 to UE 118. In addition, basetransceiver station BTS 112 may be capable of providing multicast andbroadcast services, referred to as multimedia broadcast multicastservices (MBMS) 124, to any of the user equipment. Multimedia broadcastmulticast services may refer to transmitting or sending information,data, or other messages, to multiple nodes or network destinations thatare identified by destination addresses. One example of MBMS servicesincludes mobile television over a cellular communication network,however other types of MBMS services may also be implemented.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, radio access network 100 viacore network 126 provides a mechanism for the user equipment devices tobe informed of the availability of MBMS services on designatedalternative carriers via even if those carriers are different than theprimary serving cell serving that particular user equipment.Furthermore, the user equipment may utilize a mechanism to inform thecore network 126 and/or its primary serving cell when the user equipmentswitches to and/or from another base transceiver station that is not itsprimary serving cell to utilize MBMS services on the other cell. Byimplementing both mechanisms, the base transceiver stations (enhancedNodeB, eNodeB or eNB) may perform the involved single and/ormulticarrier scheduling and carrier activation to ensure seamlessdelivery of either unicast and/or MBMS services. An example of userequipment switching from one carrier to another to receive MBMS servicesis shown in and described with respect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, below.

Referring now to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, diagrams of user equipmentswitching from a first carrier delivering unicast services to a secondcarrier delivering multicast and broadcast services in accordance withone or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 2A, userequipment 116 may be in communication with base transceiver station 110on a first carrier wherein BTS 110 acts as the primary serving cell forUE 116 to provide unicast services to UE 116. In the vicinity of UE 116,base transceiver station 112 may have the capability of providing MBMSservices to UE 116 although BTS 112 is not functioning as the primaryserving cell for UE 116. In order for UE 116 to receive MBMS servicesfrom BTS 112, UW 116 needs to be informed when MBMS services areavailable and that such MBMS services are available on BTS 112 on asecond carrier. In one or more embodiments, UE 116 looks for MBMScontrol an traffic channels on the alternate carrier. Specifically, inLTE Release-9, most of the MBMS control information is provided on alogical channel specific for MBMS common control information, the MBMSControl Channel (MCCH). If UE 116 is interested in receiving MBMSservices, UE 116 reads SystemInformationBlockType13 in the BroadcastControl Channel (BCCH) which contains information to acquire the MCCH.SystemInformationBlockType13 has the following content as defined inASN.1 syntax:

SystemInformationBlockType13-r9 : := SEQUENCE {  mbsfn-AreaInfoList-r9MBSFN-AreaInfoList-r9,  notificationConfig-r9 MBMS-NotificationConfig-r9 lateR9NonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING  OPTIONAL, -- Need OP  . . . }To enable UE 116 having a single radio to receive MBMS date from carrier2 of BTS 112 other than its primary carrier of BTS 110,SystemInformationBlockType13 may be extended in a manner such that thedownlink (DL) carrier frequency of the MBMS carrier, in this example theDL carrier frequency of BTS 112, is indicated. In one or moreembodiments, an example of such an extension is shown, below.

SystemInformationBlockType13-r9 : := SEQUENCE {  mbsfn-AreaInfoList-r9MBSFN-AreaInfoList-r9,  notificationConfig-r9 MBMS-NotificationConfig-r9 lateR9NonCriticalExtension OCTET STRING OPTIONAL, -- Need OP dl-CarrierFreq ARFCN-ValueEUTRA, OPTIONAL, -- Need OP  physCellIdPhysCellId OPTIONAL, -- Need OP  . . . }The newly added information elements dl-CarrierFreq and physCellId areoptional in one or more embodiments. When the dl-CarrierFreq informationelement is absent, SystemInformationBlockType13 is applicable to thecurrent carrier, for example where the MBMS base transceiver station isalso the current primary serving cell. Otherwise,SystemInformationBlockType13 indicates information pertaining to theMBMS carrier as indicated by the dl-CarrierFreq information element.Similarly, if present, the physCellId information element may beutilized to indicate the physical layer identity of the MBMS basetransceiver station. As shown in FIG. 2B, UE 110 may switch to BTS 112on the second carrier as indicted by SystemInformationBlockType13 suchthat UE 110 stops receiving unicast services from BTS 110 and startsreceiving MBMS services 124 from BTS 112.

Referring now to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, diagrams of user equipmentswitching from a second carrier delivering multicast and broadcastservices to a first carrier delivering unicast services in accordancewith one or more embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 3A,user equipment 116 is in communication with base transceiver station 112on a second carrier that is providing MBMS services 124 to the UE 116but is not the primary serving cell for that UE 112. As shown at FIG.3B, when the UE 116 no longer needs or desires to receive MBMS servicesfrom base transceiver station 112, UE 116 will switch from the secondcarrier to the first carrier wherein base transceiver station 110provides unicast services 122 to UE 116 at the primary serving cell forUE 116.

Referring now to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, diagrams of user equipmentswitching from first and second carriers delivering unicast services viacarrier aggregation to a third and fourth carrier delivering unicastservices on the third carrier and multicast and broadcast services onthe fourth carrier in accordance with one or more embodiments will bediscussed. As shown in FIG. 4A, user equipment 116 may include two ormore receivers or two or more transmitters to allow for carrieraggregation. In such an arrangement, one receiver of UE 116 may receiveunicast services 122 from base transceiver station 110 over a firstcarrier, and the other receiver of UE 116 may receive unicast services122 from base transceiver station 110 over a second carrier, bothcarriers being provided by base transceiver station 110. The BTS 110 maybe considered the primary serving cell for UE 116. In the vicinity of UE116, a second base transceiver station 112 may be capable of providingunicast services over a third carrier and MBMS services over a fourthcarrier. In one or more embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4B, the UE 116 maydesire to receive MBMS services at least temporarily or for a longerterm. In such a case, UE 116 switches its first receiver to the thirdcarrier of BTS 112 to receive unicast services 122 from BTS 112, andswitches its second receiver to the fourth carrier of BTS 112 to receiveMBMS services 124. Thus, the UE 116 may switch both of its receivers ortransceivers from the first and second carriers of BTS 110 to the thirdand fourth carriers of BTS 112 to receive MBMS services 124 on at leastone or more of the carriers of BTS 112. In some embodiments, UE 116receives unicast services 122 on the first and second carriers of BTS110, and then receives unicast services 122 on the third carrier fromBTS 112 and MBMS services 124 on the fourth carrier of BTS 112.Alternatively, UE 116 may receive MBMS services 124 on two or more ofits receivers, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is notlimited in this respect. When the UE 116 is finished receiving or nolonger desires to receive MBMS services 124 from BTS 112, UE 116 mayswitch back to BTS 110 as its primary serving cell if BTS 110 is moresuited to being the primary serving cell for UE 116.

Referring now to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, diagrams of user equipmentreceiving unicast services on first and second carriers via carrieraggregation and switching from the second carrier to a third carrierdelivering multicast and broadcast services in accordance with one ormore embodiments will be discussed. As shown in FIG. 5A, user equipment116 may include two or more receivers or two or more transmitters toallow for carrier aggregation. In such an arrangement, one receiver ofUE 116 may receive unicast services 122 from base transceiver station110 over a first carrier, and the other receiver of UE 116 may receiveunicast services 122 from base transceiver station 110 over a secondcarrier, both carriers being provided by base transceiver station 110.The BTS 110 may be considered the primary serving cell for UE 116. Inthe vicinity of UE 116, a second base transceiver station 112 may becapable of providing MBMS services over a third carrier. In one or moreembodiments, as shown in FIG. 4B, the UE 116 may desire to receive MBMSservices at least temporarily or for a longer term. In such a case, UE116 may switch one of its receivers to from the second carrier on BTS110 to the third carrier on BTS 112, while keeping the other of itsreceivers on the first carrier of BTS 112. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5B,one receiver of UE 116 stays in communication with base transceiverstation 110 on the first carrier to receive unicast services 122 fromBTS 110, and the other receiver of UE 116 switches from the secondcarrier to the third carrier to receive MBMS services 124 from BTS 112.In some embodiments, where UE 116 has several receivers or transceivers,UE may keep one, two or more receivers in communication with BTS 110 toreceive unicast services 122 from BTS 110 on a first group of carriers,and may switch one, two or more receivers to communicate with BTS 112 toreceive MBMS services 124 from BTS 112 on a second group of carriers,although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in thisrespect. When the UE 116 is finished receiving or no longer desires toreceive MBMS services 124 from BTS 112, UE 116 may switch back to BTS110 as its primary serving cell if BTS 110 is suited to being theprimary serving cell for UE 116.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram of a method to inform userequipment of the availability of multicast and broadcast services onanother carrier in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown inFIG. 6, method 600 may include more or fewer blocks, and/or in one ormore alternative orders, than shown, and the scope of the claimedsubject matter is not limited in these respects. At block 610, userequipment (UE) receives unicast services from its primary serving cell,for example a base transceiver station or an enhanced Node B (eNB), on acurrent carrier. At 612, the user equipment reads the broadcast controlchannel (BCCH) to determine if MBMS is available on another carrier, theMBMS carrier. If MBMS is not available as determined at decision block614, then the user equipment continues to receive unicast services fromthe primary serving cell. Otherwise, if MBMS is available, the userequipment switches at block 618 to the carrier of the base transceiverstation or eNB on which MBMS is available as indicated in the BCCH. Theuser equipment then receives MBMS services from the MBMS carrier. Asdetermined at decision block 622, the user equipment continues toreceive MBMS services until the end of the MBMS services or until theuser equipment no longer desires to receive MBMS services, at which timethe user equipment then switches at block 624 back to carrier of theprimary serving cell (eNB). Alternatively, if another carrier, cell,base transceiver station, eNB, and so on, is a better candidate to bethe primary serving cell based on channel conditions, signal strength,loading, and so on, the user equipment may switch to the better suitedcarrier or device, although the scope of the claimed subject matter isnot limited in this respect.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram of a method for user equipmentto inform the network when the user equipment starts and stops usingmultimedia and broadcast services on a carrier other than the carrier ofthe primary serving cell in accordance with one or more embodiments willbe discussed. As shown in FIG. 7, method 700 may include more or fewerblocks, and/or in one or more alternative orders, than shown, and thescope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. Inone or more embodiments, a feedback mechanism is provided from the userequipment to the base transceiver station or enhanced Node B (eNB) toindicate when a UE starts and/or stops active reception of specific MBMSservices on another carrier. Such a feedback mechanism may be designedusing the same messaging used for MBMS counting purposes, oralternatively the feedback mechanism may be designed as a separatemessage. In order to reduce or minimize uplink signaling, thetransmission of uplink feedback from the user equipment to the basetransceiver station may be allowed if the UE is subscribed to an activeMBMS service, the UE is using the MBMS service, the MBMS data istransmitted on a carrier other than the carrier UE's primary servingcell, and the UE cannot receive the MBMS bearing carrier withouttemporarily leaving its serving cell, or one of its active serving cellswhen carrier aggregation is used. In some embodiments, the feedbackmessage may comprise a media access control (MAC) Control Element or aradio resource control (RRC) message in which the MBMS contentidentification (ID) or its equivalent for all content that the userequipment is actively using is indicated. Since the base transceiverstation (eNB) is aware of the scheduling times for the MBMS servicecontent, the primary serving cell base transceiver station can avoidtransmitting unicast traffic to the user equipment on the subframe wherethat MBMS content is transmitted. The user equipment may also indicateto the base transceiver station (eNB) when the user equipment stopsreceiving the MBMS service so the scheduling of unicast traffic can beperformed with fewer restrictions to give the user equipment asufficient quality of experience and also helping with overall systemefficiency. Even for UEs with multiple RF receivers or transceivers withcarrier aggregation capability, such feedback may be involved if theMBMS bearing cell is not the serving cell for the UE. In such a case,the base transceiver station (eNB) may change the secondary serving ofthe UE to the MBMS bearing carrier or just avoid scheduling on thesecondary carrier during the transmission of the UE's active MBMSservices.

At block 710, the user equipment receives unicast services from aprimary serving cell (eNB) on a current carrier. In one or moreembodiments, the carrier where the UE is receiving unicast data isdenoted as the serving carrier associated with the serving cell. Incarrier aggregation, the serving carrier is referred to as the DownlinkPrimary Component Carrier (DL PCC) associated with the primary cell ofthe user equipment. In addition, the time when the UE switches to theMBMS bearing carrier to receive MBMS data and/or control information isdenoted as switching time. In Release 9 of the Long Term Evolutionstandard (LTE Rel-9), an MBMS Control Channel (MCCH) is used to conveythe control information relevant for MBMS. The MCCH could also be usedfor counting in Release 10 of the Long Term Evolution standard (LTERel-10). In addition, the Physical Downlink Control Channel PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may be used to inform UEs about thechanging of MCCH information. These channels are transmitted in the MBMSbearing carrier.

In one or more embodiments, to facilitate the switching between theserving carrier and MBMS bearing carrier, two options may beimplemented. In the first option, overhead may be reduced or minimized.In the second option, switching time may be reduced or minimized. In oneor more embodiments, the first option involves reducing or minimizingoverhead. In such embodiments, the MCCH and its relevant PDCCHtransmission are not sent in the serving carrier. As a result, thecontrol channel overhead is reduced or minimized. In this option, atblock 712 the UE switches periodically to the MBMS bearing carrier toreceive MCCH and PDCCH if needed. For example, a UE that is receiving anMBMS service shall switch to MBMS bearing carrier to acquire the MCCHinformation from the start of each modification period. After checkingthe MCCH and PDCCH information on the MBMS bearing carrier, the UEswitches back at block 714 to the carrier of the primary servicing cell.A UE that is not receiving an MBMS service, as well as UEs that arereceiving an MBMS service but that are potentially interested inreceiving other services not yet started in another MBSFN area, verifiesthat the stored MCCH information remains valid by attemptingperiodically to switch at block 712 to MBMS bearing carrier to find theMCCH information change notification carried in PDCCH in the configuredtimings. In this option, there is no additional MBMS related overhead inunicast carriers. However, the UE switches to the MBMS carriers morefrequently.

In one or more embodiments, the second option reduces or minimizesswitching time, that is, the occasion to switch to MBMS bearing carrierand/or duration of staying in such carrier. In this option, MBMS relatedcontrol information is transmitted at block 716 in the primary servingcell for unicast service as well. At block 718, the UE monitors the MCCHand PDDCH channels in the primary serving cell instead of reading themon MBMS bearing carrier and it switches to MBMS carrier only to receiveMBMS data. This option, while slightly adding higher overhead in theunicast channel, reduces the amount of time the UE may be absent fromits primary serving cell and therefore has less impact on schedulingthroughput efficiency of unicast traffic. The tradeoff for reduced orminimized switching time is increased overhead. For example, in one ormore embodiments the SystemInformationBlockType13 is transmitted in theunicast carrier to indicate the information of MBMS carrier, the MCCH isutilized to provide control information, and/or to count carrierswitching UEs, and the PDCCH to is utilized notify any changes of theMCCHs.

Under both options, when the UE is ready to switch to an MBMS bearingcarrier, the UE informs the primary serving cell (eNB) at block 720 ofthe MCCH and PDCCH information for the UE switching to the MBMS bearingcarrier. At block 722, the UE switches to the MBMS carrier to receiverMBMS services. At the end of the MBMS services, or if the UE no longerdesires to receive MBMS services, the UE switches back to the primaryserving cell (eNB), or to a serving cell that is suited to be theprimary serving cell.

In general, having prior knowledge of subframes where the UE is expectedto receive MBMS data, and the fact that such subframes are relativelyinfrequent, for example one subframe about every 200 seconds to aboutevery 500 milliseconds, allows the base transceiver station (eNB) toconfigure discontinuous reception (DRX) and hybrid automatic repeatrequest (Hybrid ARQ or HARQ) timing to avoid any conflicts betweenunicast and MBMS transmissions, and impacts on quality of service (QoS).The base transceiver station (eNB) may also move the primary servingcell of UE to the carrier/cell where MBMS data is transmitted if theMBMS carrier/cell can be efficiently used for unicast traffic from linkquality and loading perspectives. In any event, to ensure consistentsystem operation even in worse case scenarios, some provisions andconfiguration rules may be implemented to address priority rules forpossible conflicts with other features, however the scope of the claimedsubject matter is not limited in this respect. Such other featuresinclude, but are not limited to measurement gap, DRX, or HARQ, orcombinations thereof. If the UE is configured with measurement gap andswitching time is overlapped with the measurement gap, the UE usesmeasurement gap for the configured measurement instead of switching tothe MBMS bearing carrier. The reason for this arrangement is thatmeasurement gap is configured to support mobility, which is utilized formobile operation. If the UE is configured with DRX, and the DRX activetime is overlapped with switching time, there are two options to handlethe scenario. In the first option, the UE still monitors PDCCH duringthe active time instead of switching to the MBMS bearing carrier. Inthis arrangement, the UE only switches to the MBMS service when not inthe active time of DRX. In a second option, the UE switches to the MBMSsubframes of the MBMS bearing carrier when scheduled even during theActive Time of DRX. For HARQ, ongoing HARQ retransmissions may occureither in the downlink (DL) or the uplink (UL) that are overlapped withthe switching time. In a first option, the UE switches to the MBMSbearing carrier, and unicast retransmissions are put on hold until theUE switches back to MBMS serving carrier. In a second option, the UEstays in serving carrier to finish HARQ retransmissions. In someembodiments, different options can be configured for DL HARQ and ULHARQ, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited inthese respects.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a block diagram of an information handlingsystem capable of delivering and/or receiving multicast and broadcastservices concurrently with unicast data in accordance with one or moreembodiments. Information handling system 800 of FIG. 8 may tangiblyembody one or more of any of the network elements of radio accessnetwork 100 as shown in and described with respect to FIG. 1. Forexample, information handling system 800 may represent the hardware ofbase transceiver station 110 and/or user equipment 116, with greater orfewer components depending on the hardware specifications of theparticular device or network element. Although information handlingsystem 800 represents one example of several types of computingplatforms, information handling system 800 may include more or fewerelements and/or different arrangements of elements than shown in FIG. 8,and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in theserespects.

Information handling system 800 may comprise one or more processors suchas processor 810 and/or processor 812, which may comprise one or moreprocessing cores in a single processor. One or more of processor 810and/or processor 812 may couple to one or more memories 816 and/or 818via memory bridge 814, which may be disposed external to processors 810and/or 812, or alternatively at least partially disposed within one ormore of processors 810 and/or 812. Memory 816 and/or memory 818 maycomprise various types of semiconductor based memory, for examplevolatile type memory and/or non-volatile type memory. Memory bridge 814may couple to a graphics system 820 to drive a display device (notshown) coupled to information handling system 500.

Information handling system 800 may further comprise input/output (I/O)bridge 822 to couple to various types of I/O systems. I/O system 824 maycomprise, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) type system, an IEEE1394 type system, or the like, to couple one or more peripheral devicesto information handling system 800. Bus system 826 may comprise one ormore bus systems such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI)express type bus or the like, to connect one or more peripheral devicesto information handling system 800. A hard disk drive (HDD) controllersystem 828 may couple one or more hard disk drives or the like toinformation handling system, for example Serial ATA type drives or thelike, or alternatively a semiconductor based drive comprising flashmemory, phase change, and/or chalcogenide type memory or the like.Switch 830 may be utilized to couple one or more switched devices to I/Obridge 822, for example Gigabit Ethernet type devices or the like.Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, information handling system 800 mayinclude a radio-frequency (RF) block 832 comprising RF circuits anddevices for wireless communication with other wireless communicationdevices and/or via wireless networks such as radio access network 100 ofFIG. 1, for example where information handling system 500 embodies basetransceiver station 110 and/or user equipment 116, although the scope ofthe claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

Although the claimed subject matter has been described with a certaindegree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereofmay be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and/or scope of claimed subject matter. It is believed that thesubject matter pertaining to delivery of multicast and broadcastservices concurrently with unicast data and/or many of its attendantutilities will be understood by the forgoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand/or arrangement of the components thereof without departing from thescope and/or spirit of the claimed subject matter or without sacrificingall of its material advantages, the form herein before described beingmerely an explanatory embodiment thereof, and/or further withoutproviding substantial change thereto. It is the intention of the claimsto encompass and/or include such changes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment (UE) configured to: receive asystem information block (SIB) from an evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(EUTRAN) indicating an identified carrier frequency on which MultimediaBroadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) services are available; inform theEUTRAN that the UE will receive MBMS services on the identified carrierfrequency; receive a message from the EUTRAN changing secondary servingof the UE to a cell providing MBMS services while the UE is receivingMBMS services; and receive MBMS services on the identified carrierfrequency indicated in the SIB.
 2. A user equipment as claimed in claim1, wherein the SIB comprises a SystemInformationBlockType13 informationelement transmitted in a broadcast control channel (BCCH).
 3. A userequipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the SIB further indicates aphysical layer identifier of a cell providing the MBMS services.
 4. Auser equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UE is furtherconfigured to notify the EUTRAN when the UE is no longer receiving MBMSservices on the identified carrier.
 5. A user equipment as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the UE is further configured to send a feedback messageto the EUTRAN as a media access control (MAC) Control Element or a radioresource control (RRC) message regarding the MBMS services.
 6. A userequipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UE is further configured toreceive MBMS services from a cell other than its primary serving cell.7. A user equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UE is furtherconfigured to not receive unicast information from the EUTRAN while theUE is receiving MBMS services.
 8. A user equipment as claimed in claim1, wherein the UE is further configured to receive MBMS control channel(MCCH) information and Physical Downlink Control Channel PhysicalDownlink Control Channel (PDDCH) information from a cell providing MBMSservices.
 9. A user equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the UE isfurther configured to receive MBMS control channel (MCCH) informationand Physical Downlink Control Channel Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDDCH) information from its primary serving cell.
 10. An apparatus of auser equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors to decode asystem information block (SIB) from an evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(EUTRAN) indicating an identified carrier frequency on which MultimediaBroadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) services are available, generate amessage to inform the EUTRAN that MBMS services will be received on theidentified carrier frequency, and cause the UE to receive MBMS serviceson the identified carrier frequency indicated in the SIB, wherein theone or more processors are to cause the UE to stop active reception ofunicast information from the EUTRAN while receiving MBMS services; and amemory to store the SIB.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the SIBcomprises a SystemInformationBlockType13 information element transmittedin a broadcast control channel (BCCH).
 12. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the SIB further indicates a physical layer identifier of a cellproviding the MBMS services.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein theone or more processors are to generate a message to notify the EUTRANwhen MBMS services are no longer being received on the identifiedcarrier.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or moreprocessors are to generate a feedback message for the EUTRAN as a mediaaccess control (MAC) Control Element or a radio resource control (RRC)message regarding the MBMS services.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the one or more processors are to cause the UE to receive MBMSservices from a cell other than a primary serving cell.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are to decodea message received from the EUTRAN changing secondary service to a cellproviding MBMS services while receiving MBMS services.
 17. The apparatusof claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are to decode MBMScontrol channel (MCCH) information and Physical Downlink Control ChannelPhysical Downlink Control Channel (PDDCH) information received from acell providing MBMS services.
 18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein theone or more processors are to decode MBMS control channel (MCCH)information and Physical Downlink Control Channel Physical DownlinkControl Channel (PDDCH) information received from a primary servingcell.
 19. One or more non-transitory storage media having instructionsstored thereon that, if executed by a user equipment (UE), result in:receiving a system information block (SIB) from an evolved UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(EUTRAN) indicating an identified carrier frequency on which MultimediaBroadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) services are available; informingthe EUTRAN that MBMS services will be received on the identified carrierfrequency; receiving a message from the EUTRAN changing secondaryservice to a cell providing MBMS services while receiving MBMS services;and receiving MBMS services on the identified carrier frequencyindicated in the SIB.
 20. The one or more non-transitory storage mediaas claimed in claim 19, wherein the SIB comprises aSystemInformationBlockType13 information element transmitted in abroadcast control channel (BCCH).
 21. The one or more non-transitorystorage media as claimed in claim 19, wherein the SIB further indicatesa physical layer identifier of a cell providing the MBMS services. 22.The one or more non-transitory storage media as claimed in claim 19,wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in notifying theEUTRAN when MBMS services are no longer being received on the identifiedcarrier.
 23. The one or more non-transitory storage media as claimed inclaim 19, wherein the instructions, if executed, further result insending a feedback message to the EUTRAN as a media access control (MAC)Control Element or a radio resource control (RRC) message regarding theMBMS services.
 24. The one or more non-transitory storage media asclaimed in claim 19, wherein the instructions, if executed, furtherresult in receiving MBMS services from a cell other than a primaryserving cell.
 25. The one or more non-transitory storage media asclaimed in claim 19, wherein the instructions, if executed, furtherresult in causing the UE to stop active reception of unicast informationfrom the EUTRAN while receiving MBMS services.
 26. The one or morenon-transitory storage media as claimed in claim 19, wherein theinstructions, if executed, further result in receiving MBMS controlchannel (MCCH) information and Physical Downlink Control ChannelPhysical Downlink Control Channel (PDDCH) information from a cellproviding MBMS services.
 27. The one or more non-transitory storagemedia as claimed in claim 19, wherein the instructions, if executed,further result in receiving MBMS control channel (MCCH) information andPhysical Downlink Control Channel Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDDCH) information from a primary serving cell.
 28. An apparatus of anevolved Node B (eNB), comprising: one or more processors to send asystem information block (SIB) to a user equipment (UE) indicating anidentified carrier frequency on which Multimedia Broadcast MulticastServices (MBMS) services are available, receive a message from the UEthat the UE will receive MBMS services on the identified carrierfrequency, receive a notification from the UE that the UE is no longerreceiving MBMS services on the identified carrier frequency, maintain aunicast connection with the UE while the UE periodically switches toreceive MBMS control channel (MCCH) information and Physical DownlinkControl Channel Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDDCH) informationfrom a cell providing MBMS services; and a memory to store the messagefrom the UE.
 29. The apparatus of an evolved Node as claimed in claim28, wherein the SIB comprises a SystemInformationBlockType13 informationelement transmitted in a broadcast control channel (BCCH).
 30. Theapparatus of an evolved Node as claimed in claim 28, wherein the SIBfurther indicates a physical layer identifier of a cell providing theMBMS services.
 31. The apparatus of an evolved Node as claimed in claim28, wherein the one or more processors are to decode a feedback messagefrom the UE as a media access control (MAC) Control Element or a radioresource control (RRC) message regarding the MBMS services.
 32. Theapparatus of an evolved Node B as claimed in claim 28, wherein the oneor more processors are to cause the eNB to stop active sending ofunicast information to the UE while the UE is receiving MBMS services.33. The apparatus of an evolved Node B as claimed in claim 28, whereinthe one or more processors are to generate unicast information for theUE while the UE is receiving MBMS services.
 34. The apparatus of anevolved Node B as claimed in claim 28, wherein the one or moreprocessors are to generate a message for the UE changing secondaryserving of the UE to a cell providing MBMS services while the UE isreceiving MBMS services.
 35. The apparatus of an evolved Node B asclaimed in claim 28, wherein the one or more processors are to generateMBMS control channel (MCCH) information and Physical Downlink ControlChannel Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDDCH) information for theUE.